Empirically Supported Treatment’s Impact on Organizational Culture and Climate

• Published in: Research on social work practice 2012-11, Vol.22 (6), p.665-671
• Main Authors: Wolf, David A. Patterson-Silver, Dulmus, Catherine N., Maguin, Eugene
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Best practice; Best Practices; Child Psychology; Community based; Community Organizations; Comparative Analysis; Corporate culture; Disruption; Empirically supported treatment; Evidence; Intervention; Organizational Climate; Organizational Culture; Social work; Treatment Methods; Work Environment; Workers; Working conditions
• ISSN: 1049-7315; 1552-7581
• DOI: 10.1177/1049731512448934

Objectives: With the continued push to implement empirically supported treatments (ESTs) into community-based organizations, it is important to investigate whether working condition disruptions occur during this process. While there are many studies investigating best practices and how to adopt them, the literature lacks studies investigating the working conditions in programs that currently use ESTs. Method: This study compared the culture and climate scores of a large organization’s programs that use ESTs and those programs indicating no EST usage. Results: Of the total 55 different programs (1,273 frontline workers), 27 programs used ESTs. Results indicate that the programs offering an EST had significantly more rigid and resistant cultures, compared to those without any ESTs. In regard to climate, programs offering an EST were significantly less engaged, less functional, and more stressed. Conclusion: Outcomes indicate a significant disruption in organizational culture and climate for programs offering ESTs.